20 Indian soldiers killed in first deadly clashes with Chinese troops in 45 years

[Mosby]

Source: Washington Post

NEW DELHI ­— Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in clashes with Chinese troops high in the Himalayas, the Indian army said Tuesday, marking the most serious conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbors in decades.

The deaths occurred in the mountainous region of Ladakh where India and China share a disputed — but largely peaceful — border. No Indian soldiers have been killed in clashes on the frontier between the two countries since 1975, experts say, and no casualties of this magnitude have occurred since 1967.

The world’s two most populous nations, India and China are both rising powers that view each other warily. Apart from a war in 1962, they have tended to resolve periodic flare-ups along the border through negotiation.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/three-indian-soldiers-killed-in-rare-clash-on-china-india-border/2020/06/16/13c11c46-afa5-11ea-98b5-279a6479a1e4_story.html

[nycbos]

1. Paging Dr. Strangelove.

[greenjar_01]

2. This is some real 2020 shit

[Auggie]

3. If only the U.S. had a strong State Department

[former9thward]

17. When have we had a strong State Department concerning this conflict?

It has been going on for 70 years.

[ansible]

19. This, not our problem

Let them sort it out, we're not the world police

[SunSeeker]

4. Wow. So who had this square on their catastrophe bingo card? nt

[sakabatou]

10. I sure didn't!

[FrodosNewPet]

16. I had India vs Pakistan over Kashmir

Sadly, there is still over 6 months to fill that one.

[Roc2020]

5. What in the world is going

on with these two? all of a sudden they are beefing to the point of gunshots and soldiers dead??? two nuclear powers no less. How worse can it get

[Igel]

12. It's been stewing for a while.

There was a fight a week or two, weeks after the Chinese moved into an area they both claim and setting up base with the Indians moving in reinforcements.

This takes time. At that altitude, if you want to kill a lot of troops you deploy them to the front lines quickly. Then they're quickly tired, confused, and dead. You need to transition them gradually, and that takes weeks.

People can only focus on one thing at a time.

It's not the only thing going on. Mt. Sinjar, where we all freaked because Yazidi were there being killed by ISIS and "never again", was subject to shelling or airstrikes by Turks fighting "Kurds". Not even the NYT can spare the space to mention what was such an important thing a few years ago.

Druze are pitching a fit in NW Syria and might make for problems for Assad. Lebanon's still being anti-government and to some extent anti-Hezbollah. COVID's still a problem outside of red states--the 'Trump plague" continues to affect much of the world.

Etc.

[TristanIsolde]

20. Wait, stopped following the Syrian Civil war, what up with the Druze ?

[maxsolomon]

6. What could they have beef about?

Its nothing but rock and ice up there.

Fact: Humans are violent Apes and conflict is in our nature.

[Mosby]

9. There is no official border there.

And the Chinese have been moving assets across the "line of actual control".

[dalton99a]

7. 600 troops from both armies fighting hand-to-hand

Indian government sources said several troops were still missing and the death toll was likely to grow. The Guardian understands that fighting broke out when an Indian patrol unexpectedly encountered Chinese forces on a narrow ridge while on a patrol.

An Indian commanding officer was pushed and fell into the river gorge, sources said, leading to reinforcements being called and up to 600 troops from both armies fighting hand-to-hand in the area until late in the night, with several men from both sides falling to their deaths.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/16/india-says-soldiers-killed-on-disputed-himalayan-border-with-china

[SunSeeker]

13. Holy shit.

That's horrible.

[spudspud]

14. Hand to hand combat into the night on a narrow ridge!?

600 troops?? That's video game level bat shit craziness.

[Javaman]

8. I've been following this for the past couple of years...

There is some truly weird shit going on in that area.

at the root of the matter (or partial root, is that a thing?) is the Indian influence upon the locals in that area of china.

china doesn't like that the Indians are trying to spread democracy. But that's just an excuse of china to expand their influence in a partially autonomous boarder area that they don't like because...the undo influence upon the chinese population.

[Sapient Donkey]

15. I recall seeing more than a few videos of Chinese and Indians soldiers arguing/pushing each other

I remember thinking it was interesting because they were speaking to each other in English.

[AmericanCanuck]

18. That area belongs to India and not China.

That is territory the Chinese seized in 1962 when India was weak. Not any more.

[kansasobama]

11. Chinese government is doing a Trumpish thing

There is an outbreak in coronavirus in Beijing. Divert attention. Oh, let us attack India, clamp down on Hong Kong. Lot of things that the Chinese government does has no connection to what the Chinese people want or do not want. Not even sure if the people know what is going on. Chinese media (like FOX media) diverts attention.

Good strategy China, have a fight with US on trade and now fight with neighbors who buy Chinese goods! Screw the poor Chinese workforce.

Do many rural Trump supporters even know that Trump is screwing their future? They just blindly follow Trump.

[Recursion]

21. Jesus: knives and batons at a parley

With people falling off the mountain pass they're on. That's insane.